Bowling pin duster



Aug. 28, 1962 Filed Nov. 9, 1961 J. l. SHULEVlTZ 3,051,484

BOWLING PIN DUSTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EE- l INVENTOR.

JOSEPH l. SHULEVITZ MQZQMFQ ATTORNEYS Aug. 28, 1962 J. l. SHULEVITZBOWLING PIN DUSTER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1961 m w m m BYJOSEPHI. SHULEVITZ Gum Guam ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofi 3,051,484Patented Aug. 28, 1962 3,051,434 BOWLING PIN DUSTER Joseph I. Shulevitz,Detroit, Mich, assignor to Cadillac Overall Supply Company, Detroit,Mich. Filed Nov. 9, 1961, Ser. No. 151,325 2 Claims. (131. 273-43) Thisinvention relates to a bowling pin duster and more particularly to ameans for dusting bowling pins as the pins are being carried through andhandled by an automatic bowling pin setting machine.

In commercial bowling alleys, it is conventional to use mechanicalbowling pin setting machines, such as are illustrated in the patents toDumas 2,821,395 and Zuercher 2,815,954. These machines gather thebowling pins, after they are struck down by the bowling ball, carrythese pins back to the proper positions upon the end of the wood floorof the bOWling lane, and into the pit of the alley, and then set upthese pins in their proper positions so that the bowler may again roll aball towards them.

These automatic pin setters are sensitive to dust and dirt, which, tosome extent, they receive from the pins. The pins in rolling about afterbeing struck down acquire coatings of dust and dirt which they carrythrough to the pin setting mechanism. This dust and dirt ultimatelycauses the pin setter to malfunction, thus requiring frequent repair andadjustment.

Hence, it is highly desirable to dust each pin after it is struck downbut before it enters the conveying mechanism of the automatic pin setterand thus avoid the carrying of dust and dirt into the mechanism.However, the nature of the mechanism and the space requirements are suchthat it has been considered to be impractical to dust each pin prior toits entering the automatic pin setter mechanism for resetting.

Thus, the object of this invention is to provide a bowling pin dustermechanism which will automatically dust each pin after it is struck downby a bowling ball but before it is carried through to the pin resettingmechanism thereby substantially to reduce the carrying of dirt and dustinto the pin setter.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bowling pin dusterwhich includes as its main dusting ele ment, an endless cloth band soarranged and formed that it will dust each pin as the pin rolls towardsthe pin setter mechanism, wherein the cloth belt will regularly shiftand advance its position so as repeatedly to present clean surfaces tothe pins, and wherein the band may be easily removed and replaced by asimilar band after it has become dirty.

Still a further object of this invention is to utilize the shockimparted by a bowling ball being stopped by the pin setter ball bumperand also the frictional drag of the conveyor belt normally used toconvey the pins from the wood floor of the bowling lane to the pinsetting mechanism together as the means to shift and advance the dustingcloth to change its dusting portion.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description, of which the attacheddrawings form a part.

In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pit portion at the end of a bowlingalley, but with most of the automatic pin setter mechanism being omittedfor illustration purposes.

FIG. 2 is a rear end elevational view of parts at the end of the lane,and

FIG. 3 is a side view taken in the direction of arrows 22 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective View of certain parts including the cloth dusterband.

In FIG. 1, the numeral 111 generally designates the pit end of a bowlingalley, that is, the end most remote from the bowler and thus, the placewhere the bowling pins are arranged in their standing pattern to receivethe bowling ball rolled by a bowler. The lane includes a wood floor 11upon which the pins are set up in predetermined places and upon whichthe ball rolls. At the end of the lane floor 11 is a pit containing ahorizontal, constantly moving, endless conveyor belt 12 which carriesdowned pins P from the floor 11 into the automatic pin setting mechanism(not illustrated) for replacement upon the predetermined spots S on 11.

A conventional pin Setter mechanism used herewith includes a horizontalbar 13 arranged considerably above and transverse to the belt 12 andmounted upon a support frame 14, which is part of the pin resettingmachine, by means of resilient bushings or washers 15 which nonrotatablyreceive the opposite ends of the bar 13 and are in turn supported uponthe support frame 14. These referenced parts 13-14-45 and othershereafter referred to form part of the mechanism of this application aswell as part of a conventional pin setting machine.

Located beneath bar 13, a short distance above the belt 12, is ahorizontally arranged bumper plate or strip 16 against which the bowlingball B rolls as it completes its travel down the lane. After strikingthe bumper 16, the ball stops and rolls off to one side of the lanewhere it is picked up by a ball return mechanism (not illustrated).Corresponding parts may be found in Dumas 2,821,395 who shows a belt326, a bumper or cushion 88 on a shaft (unnumbered) for actuating a pitswitch 90 which starts a sweep motor 94 and rotates a shaft 236. Theunnumbered shaft of Dumas, supporting the cushion 88, may be consideredthe same as shaft 13 hereof.

Corresponding parts may also be found in Zuercher 2,815,954 whose bumperS-38 is supported from shaft 42 by arms 40. Shaft 42 may be consideredthe same as shaft 13 hereof.

The bumper is rigidly connected to the bar 13 by means of brackets orarms 17 so that the shock or impact of the ball striking the bumper istransmitted to the bar 13. In the structure illustrated, the impact ofthe ball against the bumper 16 will cause the bumper to move rearwardlya slight amount, from 4; inch to /2 inch due to the fact that the bar13, mounted in the resilient, rubber-like bushings 15, twists thebushings slightly under impact. Such movement of bar 13 may be relied onto activate a pit switch, as in Dumas.

So far the parts described are old and well-known.

The means for constantly dusting the pins as they pass from the alley 11upon the belt 12 to the pin setting mechanism, consists essentially ofan endless cloth belt 20 (see FIG. 4) which is preferably made of a dustattractive cloth, such as is commonly available on the market today andknown as silicon treated cloth. The particular type of cloth is notmaterial to this invention and may be chosen, from those available, bythe skilled mechanic.

The duster cloth is originally in the form of an elongated rectanglewhose width is equal to a substantial portion of the length of the bar13 and whose ends are turned over and sewn into seams 21 which areoverlapped and connected together by snap fasteners 22. The oppositelong side edges of the cloth band are also turned over and seamed at 23with conventional sewn seams. It may also have a splicing seam shown at28, if one is needed.

The band is normally passed over the bar 13 before the snap fastenersare connected. Thereafter, the snap fasteners are connected to form theendless band which then hangs vertically downwardly a sufiicientdistance so that its bottom portion 24 rests or laps for about twoinches or so and drags upon the top surface of the belt 12 (FIG. 4).

The frictional drag between the band portion 24 and the top surface ofthe belt 12 is normally less than the load and friction resulting fromthe contact between the band and the bar 13. Thus, normal movement ofthe belt 12 does not disturb the band. However, when a bowling ball B(see FIG. 3) rolls down the land and strikes the bumper 16, the shocktransmitted to the bar 13 moves or rotates or shifts slightly and jarsthe cloth in contact with it so as momentarily to free the cloth to someextent from the bar and thus reduce its frictional contact. The rotationof the bar 13 may also rotate the band slightly. Thus, at that moment,the drag between the band portion 24 and the belt 12 is sufficientlygreat to pull the band and cause it to rotate about the bar 13 in thedirection of arrow 25 (see FIG. 4). Hence, each time the ball strikesthe bumper, the cloth band is advanced by the coaction of the shock ofthe ball striking the bumper and being transmitted to the bar 13 and thefrictional drag of the horizontal belt 12. Thus, the cloth portion 24constantly changes so that a clean portion of the band is constantlypresented to the belt surface. The movement of the band is slight sothat the band would complete a complete revolution only after aconsiderable period of time and a considerable number of impacts of theball B with the bumper 15.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the pins in moving upon conveyor 12,pass into and under band portion 24 and are dusted, with the result thatwhen they roll into the pin setting mechanism, they are substantiallyclean and free of dust and thus do not carry dust and dirt into the pinsetting mechanism. Likewise, the conveyor belt is constantly dusted byportion 24 to keep it clean at all times. The band, because of its sideseams 23, which increase the friction between the side edges of the bandand the bar 13, and also because of the horizontal seam 21, whichfunctions to some extent as a horizontal stiffener, does not bunch upalong the bar 13, but remains flat relative to the bar, as illustratedin FIG. 4-.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of thefollowing attached claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoingdescription be read. as being merely illustrative of an operativeembodiment of this invention and not in a strictly limiting sense.

I now claim:

1. Apparatus comprising an endless constantly moving horizontal conveyorbelt arranged in a pit at the rear end of a bowling alley for receivingand carrying bowling pins struck down by a bowling ball rolled down thealley, a horizontal bar arranged transverse of and at a considerabledistance above the conveyor belt, resilient rubber bushings mounting thebar at its ends for reciprocal rotation so that it can rock back andforth a few degrees; a backstop bumper arranged between the bar and thebelt for stopping a rolling bowling ball and absorbing the impactthereof; vertical arms fixedly connecting said bumper to the bar wherebyhorizontal movement of the bumper due to ball impact causes suddenrotary movement of the bar a few degrees; a bowling pin dust clothformed as an endless band of a width approximately the length of the barand loosely passed over and looped around said bar to rest upon it, withthe band being of a vertical length to hang vertically beneath the barand loosely drag its lower end for about two inches upon the top surfaceof the belt, with the frictional drag of the belt against the lower partof the band normally being less than the frictional contact between thebar and the band whereby the cloth does not normally shift on the bar,the cloth being shifted so that the cloth band portion which drags uponthe belt is changed by movement of the band around the bar a slightamount in response to the shock of a ball striking the bumper, saidshock being transmitted to the bar to rotate it a few degrees and alsomomentarily reduce the normal friction between the band and bar,whereupon the frictional drag of the moving conveyor belt upon the banddrags the band portion in contact with the belt and thus advances orrotates the band relative to the bar.

2. Means for dusting bowling pins passing through and being handled byan automatic bowling pin setter in a pit at the end of a bowling alley,including a constantly moving endless conveyor belt arranged in said pitin horizontal alignment with the end of the wood floor of the bowlingalley to receive pins struck down thereon and for conveying said pins inthe pit from the floor to a means for replacing the pins upon the floorin proper order, and including a horizontal bar arranged considerablyabove and transverse to the belt, resilient rubber bushings mounting thebar at its ends for reciprocal rotation so that it can rock back andforth, and a ball bumper fixedly secured to the bar and arranged aboveand transverse to the belt but below the bar for stopping a rolling balland receiving the impact of the ball, with such impact being transmittedfrom the bumper to the bar; said first-mentioned means comprising anendless cloth band loosely passed over and looped around said bar torest upon the bar and covering a substantial length of the bar andhanging free downwardly with its free end dragging on the belt and withthe frictional drag of the belt against the band normally being lessthan the frictional contact between the cloth and the bar; the bandbeing advanced around the bar to change its portion in contact with thebelt in response to the shock of a bowling ball striking the bumper,said shock being transmitted to the bar to momentarily reduce thefrictional contact between the band and the bar and hence permit thefrictional drag of the moving belt to drag the band and advance it aslight amount.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,001,239 Beazley Aug. 22, 1911 1,468,212 Redfield Sept. 18, 19231,476,113 Stebler Dec. 4, 1923 1,678,240 Benz July 24, 1928 2,815,954Zuercher Dec. 10, 1957

